Principles of Material Design

Material design is integrated extensively while building Android apps and in web-based projects. It proves pivotal in the creation of beautifully designed web pages. Material design was introduced by Google in 2014 and since then it has been a part of every design element. The sole purpose is to have a responsive design and make the animations and transitions look natural.

There are quite a few material design principles which have to be related to the goals that you are looking to achieve with the design. Below I am going to highlight a few of the principles of material design that you must always follow while integrating it into your web design.

Select Those Design Concepts Which Make Sense

You should choose those design concepts which will look great on the modern devices. These have to be blended with a unique interface experience that will put an end to the restrictive design patterns. Every user-facing page should reflect your brand and make the entire navigating experience intuitive for the user.

Shadows Are a Great Tool for Showcase Hierarchy

Among the tools of material design lighting and shadow are considered quite essential. It is vital that you add depth to the designs which will make them visually appealing. However, in doing so ensure that you do not go over the top. Showcasing the hierarchy of different elements is possible through shadows. These elements will then combine into a single complete design. The whole shadow structure must make sense which will have an impact on the overall structure of the design.

Use Primary, Accent and Bold Colors

You need to select three hues and a color which will make up the primary palette and accent respectively. The use of primary colors can be done for the fonts, fields, boxes, backgrounds and the other elements of the interface. The accent color will play its role while displaying the main elements of a page. Due to this, the accent color must have a high contrast when compared with the primary hues.

Images Must Have a Leading Role

All the images that are included in your design should be featured edge to edge. There should be no margins which are present at the edge of the window or the image. A full bleed design will make it engaging for the users. Also, the designers will be able to utilize some additional design tools along with color palettes, pre-approved shadows, and layers.

Functionality Should Not Be Ignored For Form

A common mistake which is committed by a few web designers is by going for form over functionality. In doing so, they ignore the usability recommendations. A modern-day website should not just have a user-friendly visual appearance but it should offer user-friendly functionalities as well.

Integrate Motion Into the Design

A good material design will be incomplete without motion. By incorporating motion, a user will be able to direct their attention and understand actually how things work. The same principle is utilized by material design. Motion enables the users to know as to how they should use the design. While incorporating motion, ensure that it is authentic. The motion should look real and give an impression to the users that it is not fake. The sole purpose of incorporating motion is to enrich the interface which will enhance the overall user experience.

Everything Should Be Responsive

The main objective of material design is to make everything accessible to the end user. The user must have a consistent experience no matter which all devices they are using. By getting a completely new interface on every new device will leave them confused. A good material design will enable the users to transition through a website without facing any kind of obstacles. For this to happen, the design must be responsive. With the assistance of modern frameworks making your design into a responsive one is no big deal.

Whitespace Should be Utilized Effectively

Whitespace plays a crucial role in improving the text layout and typography. It will enable you to create a focus and grab the attention of users and guide them to actually what you want them to focus them on. Large-scale typography must be used for headlines and add a lot of whitespaces. There is no harm in including a lot of blank spaces in the overall design.

In The End

Material design is all about details. You should be able to convey the actual functionality and the purpose of the design. It is up to you as to how you are going to utilize material design and extract its complete potential. I hope that all the material design principles which are showcased above will be followed by you. These will enable you to utilize this digital design philosophy in an effective manner.

I would love to know your views about the article in the comments section below.

Author Bio:

Morris Edwards is an avid tech blogger with vast experience in various IT domains. He is currently associated with Awebstar offering web design in Singapore, Which also provides a range of digital services like web development & software development, website maintenance services, digital marketing and many more.